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idealist

idealist

33 5.0
A person who follows strong beliefs rather than practical needs
  • noun
  • /ˈaɪdiəˌlɪst/
translation icon : idealista
  • Because I'm an idealist, I believe ideas matter, that the way people think about things really, really matters.
  • realists and idealists
  • romantic idealists
  • idealist philosophy

Aren't you being a naive idealist pursuing such unrealistic goals?

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Examples

  • In Animal Farm, Snowball is the idealist who gets purged by the ruthless Napoleon.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • With our story in place, it now becomes possible to see how an idealist ought to describe the situation.

    Academic text (2017)
  • I needed to be sure that you were the same idealist... who worked for me 10 years ago.

  • Rather than start from physical reality, the idealist will start from experience itself.

    Academic text (2017)
  • As a revolutionary idealist, I refuse to stomach such atrocities.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • All the moralists and idealists, Machiavelli teaches, have had their chance, and what have they produced?

    Academic text (1996)
  • The CSDP, in its platform, appealed to political idealists and those who favored socialism.

    Academic text (1993)
  • As an idealist, she always strives to improve society based on her strong values.

  • The idealist believes that everyone has the potential to create a better world.

  • Many consider him an idealist because he prioritizes principles over practical solutions.

Synonyms

dreamer
vsidealist
71 3.8

A person who imagines new things and cares more about ideas than practical plans

is guided by principles rather than escaping into imagination
visionary
vsidealist
5 7.2

A person who has ideas that are not realistic and will not work

is guided by principles rather than making fanciful unrealistic plans
quixote
vsidealist
9.9

A person with unrealistic ideas who tries to achieve them

is guided by principles while being less extremely impractical

Antonyms

16 6.9

A person who tries to solve problems in a sensible way and focuses on what works

How Idealistic

Utopian
4 8.1
visionary
47 6.3
idealist
33 5.0
realist
30 4.4
pragmatist
16 6.9

Surface Forms

idealist singular
idealists plural

Morphology

idealist = ideal (transparent) = ideal + ist

The suffix '-ist' clearly indicates a person associated with or practicing the root concept 'ideal'.

Etymology

Idealist comes from ideal, which in turn comes from idea meaning 'an idea' or a 'perfect model'. So an idealist is someone who follows big ideas or perfect goals rather than by what is practical.